District 94 Toastmasters Conference

Today, I finally had the much-needed rest and I am happy I did. I didn’t come here to tell you of one of my all-time favorite activities – Sleeping! I am here to tell you about the kind of week I had from the 21st – the 28th of May, in the year of the Lord 2023. No, don't roll your eyes yet, I am that dramatic.

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In the Toastmasters community, we have conferences every year and it moves from one location to another. This year, the bus took us to Lome, and the theme for the conference – was ‘Expanding Our Horizons with Toastmasters, In An Ever-Changing World.

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Our host country Lome did such an excellent job in organizing to the very minute detail. As a participant, I could tell that a lot of thought was put into planning for different countries that were to be in attendance. A total of 15 Countries from this Gigantic Continent specifically Central and West Africa; Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

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Many highs for me from this experience, I advise that we all take advantage of this smooth networking opportunity during our Toastmasters cycle.

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I won’t rush the gist, at least not yet. If I don’t tell you about the lead-up to Day 1 what kind of person would I be and have you really heard everything?

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I traveled for three days, well not all day. But I was on the road or a flight moving from point A to B. I first had to move from Jos, Plateau State in Nigeria to Abuja which took about 4 hours and 30 minutes by road transportation. The next day I joined a flight to Lagos for about an hour and on the third day Team Nigeria was on her way to Lome from Lagos.

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This last leg of this pre-arrival journey drew our edges in so many ways, but as a team, we found a way to make light of the situation. Especially, when Toastmaster Chukwuebuka bought that metallic plantain chips. (If you know, you know).

Day 1 – A customary flag rising by all countries present and there were moments when I had goosebumps. The flags held high and moved in a rhythmic way from left to right, which left me feeling proud of this Mother Continent called Africa.

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The Semi-Finals contest. Beautiful speeches and responses at the table topics session. I do not envy the Judges. Our Ghana candidates did us proudly. Congratulations to Paul Forjoe-Jnr, Kadiatou Barry, and Eunice Tekour Ofori for making it to the Finals.

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Day 2 – There were some training sessions and a hall of fame.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t grasp a lot from the French training because of the gap in translations; however, the English session handled by DTM Patrick Oluyide had so many gems.

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Four Gems;

* A person who resist change you are not a citizen for the future.

* Fight your mind - wait in war with your mind. - Resist COMPLACENCY

* Toastmasters are not just where LEADERS ARE MADE but where LEADERS MAKE THEMSELVES.

* We don't influence people; people come to the light of our influence.

Great gems right, I thought so too.

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Day 3 – District Elections and Finals competition.

Congratulations to Carl Anthony Quaye our incoming Division M Director, Gloria Bempong incoming Division G Director, and Hauwa Abukabar who will represent the district in the Bahamas come August 2023.

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Day 4 – Closing ceremony and Welcoming of the first-timer.

I was hoping we would get some sumptuous small chops as we do in our churches for the first-timers. We got even more; a long train of dancing, standing ovations, hearty claps, and first-timer badges. Not what you were expecting? Well, it was good enough for me.

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The exciting part of the gala night was the recognition of DTM and of course the dance by all countries.

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The painful part was saying goodbye to new friends made.

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John Maxwell said, “Experience is not the best teacher; evaluated experience is.”

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Of course, there are Lessons learned;

*Have maximum fun, we rest later or on our way home.

*Dump escapism - Interact in spite of the language barrier, and make an effort.

*If you arrange Airbnb, be sure to know the exact location. If you have logistics on the ground plead with them to check the place out.

*Resist the temptation to stay only with your people. New terrain new opportunities for collaboration cease it!

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I hope that by sharing my experience, you would start planning to be in Abuja - Nigeria come May 2024 or the Bahamas in August 2023.

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Most importantly, is that you become intentional on your toastmasters journey. Take it ’world cup’ as we say in Ghana meaning a lot more seriously.

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Because, how does a 5 months old Toastmaster get to represent District 94 in the Bahamas?

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Just think about it!